Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Intravascular Ultrasound Imaging: State of the Art
Kayode O. Kuku, Manavotam Singh, Yuichi Ozaki, Kazuhiro Dan, Chava Chezar‐Azerrad, Ron Waksman, Héctor M. García‐García
Abstract
Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) secondary to coronary vessel plaques represent a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. Advancements in imaging technology over the last 3 decades have continuously enabled the study of coronary plaques via invasive imaging methods like intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). The introduction of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a modality that could detect the lipid (cholesterol) content of atherosclerotic plaques in the early nineties, opened the potential of studying "vulnerable" or rupture-prone, lipid-rich coronary plaques in ACS patients. Most recently, the ability of NIRS-IVUS to identify patients at risk of future adverse events was shown in a prospective multicenter trial, the Lipid-Rich-plaque Study. Intracoronary NIRS-IVUS imaging offers a unique method of coronary lipid-plaque characterization and could become a valuable clinical diagnostic and treatment monitoring tool.